Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 435 Where can the peaceful years come from?
Shuofang, at the head of Lingzhou City.

Shuofang's military commander Li Guozhen, Shuofang's camp commander Zhang Qiqiu and other generals of Shuofang's army felt a little frightened when they looked at the densely packed grasslands across the Yellow River and the endless Uighur cavalry.

No matter how small the number of cavalry under the city is, there are tens of thousands of them! Shuofang's defense area was very large, and its garrison areas were scattered. There were only a few thousand Tang troops in Lingzhou City.

If we really want to fight, the consequences will be disastrous!

"Pugu Huai'en! Please explain to this commander what's going on?"

Li Guozhen pointed at the Uighur cavalry on the other side of the Yellow River and asked loudly.

Pugu Huai'en was the leader of the Tiele tribe attached to the Tang Dynasty, a general of the Shuofang army, and the "middleman" between the Tang Dynasty and Uighur. This time he was tricked by Huihe Yehu, and he felt aggrieved.

Now it's like Zhu Bajie looking in the mirror, he is no longer human inside and out.

Here's the thing.

Li Guozhen, Zhang Qiqiu and other senior officials of Shuofang Army have been secretly preparing for military operations against Uighur. In recent years, the Uighurs have invaded the pastures of other tribes, disguised themselves as horse thieves and plundered trade routes, and completely ignored the Shuofang Army who "watched the show". They have become very arrogant.

After the Uighurs received the deposit, all the horses they delivered turned out to be crooked melons and cracked jujubes! This kind of inferior horse can only carry goods and cannot be ridden by soldiers!

Pugu Huai'en was naturally loyal to the Tang Dynasty and served Shuofang's army wholeheartedly.

In other words, first add 10,000 additional horses to Shuofang's army! This kind of ordinary operation is common practice in Hexi and Anxi Protectorate, and it will not arouse the vigilance of the Huihe people, let alone make the court feel surprised.

Things were going smoothly, and the price of the Uighur horses was also very reasonable. Pugu Huaien personally inspected the horses and found that they were all good horses. The matter was quickly negotiated.

After all, Datang needed to establish a "model", and Pugu Huaien was the best model!

If both sides can talk, their status will naturally skyrocket!
But now that Shuofang's army and the Uighurs are quarreling, both sides have doubts about Pugu Huaien, thinking that the position of his buttocks is not right!

So it’s not so much a man paired with a horse, but a horse paired with a man.

As the Tang Dynasty's watchdog in the Hetao area, Shuofang's army could not let the Uighurs do whatever they wanted, so suppression was inevitable.

Now is the time to employ people. There is no benefit in acting on impulse and it will not solve the problem.

In fact, Shuofang's army and the Uighurs both understand that now is the time to pull each other's back. When Uighur power becomes stronger, they must pursue a status that matches their strength.

When the time comes to use troops against the Huihe people, recruit them if they are needed for battle, and send them off if they are not needed, and let them go back to their homes. Only horses are fixed in the actual establishment of the army.

So Li Guozhen and others came up with a way to subvert one's strengths and weaknesses, which is the so-called "separation of troops and horses."

If the Huihe people are not taught a lesson, Shuofang's army will be unable to control the situation, and I can't even imagine what will happen by then.

So Shuofang's army wanted to privately expand its cavalry by 10,000 people, in addition to the imperial establishment. However, recruiting soldiers privately outside the establishment is very taboo, and it is difficult to explain when questioned by the court.

"That's all, for now, let's just look at how to defeat the enemy."

The Uighur people will also prepare the groundwork for the next action based on the reaction of Shuofang's army. Whether to advance or retreat depends on the performance of the Tang army.

Because the horses needed were an expansion, they naturally exceeded the limits of local supply. In desperation, Li Guozhen ordered his servant Guhuaien to take people and money to buy horses in Huihe.

In other words, we do not rule out pushing the envelope and continuing to gain more benefits.

Li Guozhen gave the order, and the Tang army dispatched and captured these 10,000 bad horses! Then there was this scene. Uighur Yehu came to Lingzhou with cavalry from various Uighur tribes to ask for an explanation.

As a result, Pugu Huaien, who was caught between the two parties, felt uncomfortable.

Get the horses first, and then recruit soldiers when needed.

Li Guozhen was born in a clan that was not of the bloodline of Emperor Gaozu. He was used to being pampered and pampered in the past. He didn't know much about the unspoken rules of the military, and he was a bit bookish. However, Zhang Qiqiu had been in Shuofang's army for many years and had a clear understanding of Qiu Ba's thoughts. It could be said that he knew everything about them.

Zhang Qiqiu stepped forward to smooth things over and said.

Because he had connections in the Uighur tribe, he assumed the role of "middleman".

After learning about this, Li Guozhen was furious, but because Shuofang's army was not ready to fight against the Uighurs, he had to send Pugu Huai'en to negotiate with the Uighurs.

As for the Tang Dynasty, with Shuofang's army as its back, being able to talk to various grassland ministries and proving one's "loyalty", wouldn't this be more fragrant than following Huihe Yehu Hunhun?

I paid a deposit and agreed that the Huihe people would send a horse over for inspection and then pay the balance. During the negotiation, the atmosphere between the two parties was very friendly.

This is not because he yearns for the culture of the Central Plains, but because of a very straightforward and simple truth: the Uighurs are gradually becoming more and more powerful. Even if he brings his tribe to join them, he can only be a junior brother, and he may even be swallowed up by the other party.

And because of Chao Qin and Mu Chu, his reputation was also ruined.

Pugu Huaien cupped his fists and saluted, hating the Uighurs in his heart.

Then before the military operation begins, cavalry soldiers are recruited from the nomadic tribes surrounding the city. Many of these people were people who had served in the Tang Army before and retired after rotation.

When the Grassland Alliance erected the monument, he led Fang Youde and won some military exploits, so he was able to gain a foothold in Shuofang's army.

It was clear that the Tang army would not be able to fight back!

At this time, the Huihe people began to act rogue.

Loyalty is not absolute, it is absolutely disloyal!
Now is the time for Pugu Huaien to show his "loyalty", whether to the Tang Dynasty or to the Huihe people. He couldn't continue to be a fence-sitter.

"The general is not doing his job well, please punish me, Commander-in-Chief!"

The Uighur people may not be reluctant to part with 10,000 good horses, but they want to test the depth of the water and see if Shuofang's army can swallow this breath.

When had Shuofang's army ever been so angry?
It's not bad for them to play this trick on the surrounding grassland peoples. How can they endure this kind of thing when they are played in turn?

"General Pugu didn't expect the Uighurs to be so heartless, so Li Jieshuai doesn't need to be harsh."

Huihe Yehu said to Pugu Huaien: The horses are just those horses, and there are only these. We have to use the other horses ourselves. You can take the horse if you want it, but the deposit cannot be refunded if you don't want me to take the horse back.

But the problem lies in receiving the horses!

Li Guozhen waved his hand helplessly and no longer held Pugu Huai'en accountable.

The atmosphere at the scene fell into embarrassment, because Li Guozhen already regretted his decision to impound the Huihe horses.

He suddenly realized, could this be a trick of the Huihe people?

Otherwise, how could the Uighurs gather tens of thousands of cavalry in such a short period of time?

Zhang Qiqiu tried hard to persuade him, but he didn't listen, and now things are getting worse!

"The Uighur troops came to the city, what should they do?"

Li Guozhen approached Zhang Qiqiu and asked in a low voice.

"Jie Shuai, I have a plan."

Zhang Qiqiu whispered in Li Guozhen's ear for a long time.

"Wonderful!"

Li Guozhen clasped his hands and laughed, obviously very satisfied with this strategy.

He waved to Pugu Huaien, and Zhang Qiqiu told Pugu Huaien his plan in full.

"This section, the commander will beat you with a military stick in front of Lingzhou City in public. You will decide this matter privately. Then we will return the 10,000 bad horses to Huihe.

If this happens, how about you taking the lead? "

Li Guozhen looked at Pugu Huai'en with burning eyes and asked.

"Death for the Commander-in-Chief!"

Pugu Huaien clasped his fists in excitement and saluted.

After he left, Li Guozhen asked hesitantly: "Is it really okay to do this?"

“It’s just the lesser of two evils.

We can show weakness to our enemies, but we cannot show weakness.

Di Yi are beasts, fearful of power but not virtuous, and it is useless to reason with them. "

Zhang Qiqiu continued sonorously: "Everything is for the Tang Dynasty, nothing else is worth mentioning." "Yes, everything is for the Tang Dynasty."

Li Guozhen sighed, feeling physically and mentally exhausted.

"You can order the Jinglue Army, Anfeng Army, and Zhenwu Army to move closer to Lingzhou to prepare for any eventuality!"

Zhang Qiqiu suggested in a low voice.

"Yeah, indeed."

Li Guozhen nodded, with a troubled expression.

……

"I had a little donkey that I never rode. One day, on a whim, I rode it to the market."

While riding on the horse, Fang Chongyong was humming a song and dozing off with his eyes closed, his whole body feeling drowsy.

Yesterday I finally figured out what the words "pink skull" mean. When a woman gets horny in bed, most people really can't resist it.

"I told you to take it easy in bed yesterday, but you just didn't listen.

You see, I didn’t fight with them yesterday because I felt sorry for you.

Yes or no? "

Anaye beside her complained.

"Yes, yes, you still feel sorry for me."

Fang Chongyong replied carelessly, obviously not taking it to heart.

Anaye rolled her eyes at Fang Zhongyong and rode forward alone.

The entire team, including three thousand silver-gunned Xiaojie troops, plus 400 Yan Zhenqing's entourage, and ten thousand civilians carrying grain, headed towards Luoyang in a mighty manner.

This road is the famous "Two Capitals Road" in the Tang Dynasty. The road is wide and flat, with numerous inns along the way. If an official is accompanied by more than a dozen people, he or she can hardly bring any luggage or prepare dry food.

But no matter how awesome the inn is, it can't supply an army of thousands of people!
It's not like in Hexi, where camels are used to carry heavy loads, so the team has to be followed by a long "tail".

Of course, these civilians also had other tasks, such as dredging canals, building forts, and carrying money back to Guanzhong. In short, Brother Ji made a lot of determination this time.

Let Fang Chongyong and the others make enough money when they arrive in the south!
"Stop! Stop it! Stop it!"

There was shouting from behind the team, causing a commotion. Several eunuchs in red palace uniforms, holding a wooden sign with the word "stop" written on it, rode horses and came from the direction behind Fang Chongyong, that is, the direction of Chang'an.

Fang Chongyong turned around with a surprised expression, just in time to see Gao Lishi galloping towards him on horseback.

After he arrived at Fang Chongyong's side, he quickly reined in the reins and said to the surprised new Huainan Jiedu envoy: "Silver Spear Xiaojie Army is stationed on the spot. Fang Jun Envoy quickly goes to Xingqing Palace to discuss important matters!"

ha?
Fang Chongyong thought he heard wrongly.

Ma De, we just started heading east from Xuanwu Gate in Chang'an this morning. We haven't even walked a few miles and we have to return to Chang'an?

The imperial court's change of orders from morning to night is a bit off the mark!

Seeing that he was dazed, Gao Lishi rode forward and whispered: "Don't worry, General Fang. This trip is only for official business. This is not the place to talk."

"understood."

Fang Chongyong took a deep breath, nodded slightly, and shouted to Feng Changqing who was not far away: "Send my military order to camp on the spot and do not disturb the people."

"Order!"

Feng Changqing took the order and left without saying any nonsense.

Fang Chongyong immediately crossed his arms and saluted Gao Lishi: "General Gao, please lead the way."

"Well, well, well, you are worthy of being the son of Quanzhong, and you are worthy of the courtesy name Guozhong given to you by the saint."

Gao Lishi nodded gratefully. At this juncture, Fang Chongyong had no "shouldn't have" thoughts. It couldn't be better.

The two rode their horses directly into the Chunming Gate, arrived at the Xingqing Palace, and walked quickly into the imperial study room in the main building of Qinzhengwu.

As soon as he saw Fang Chongyong coming, Brother Ji was obviously relieved.

"No need to be formal, sit down!"

Just as Fang Chongyong was about to salute, Brother Ji pointed to the cushion in front of him, indicating that Fang Chongyong didn't need to say anything.

"How is the morale of the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army now?"

Brother Ji asked with a calm expression.

"Back to the saint, I hope that the saint will respect you, and I will stay on guard day and night and not dare to slack off, in order to repay the saint's grace!

Use me in the first battle, and you will win if you use me! "

Fang Chongyong cupped his fists and saluted.

"well!

Without further ado, you and Yan Zhenqing will go to Lingzhou City, the military headquarters of Shuofang, to replace Li Guozhen.

I will immediately issue an edict to revoke your position as Huainan Jiedushi and appoint you as the new Shuofang Jiedushi. Yan Zhenqing is the camp envoy of Shuofang. You two should go to Shuofang quickly.

Go with the filial piety army with three thousand silver spears.

Without further ado, let’s set off now and travel on a starry night. I will give you another imperial edict. The prefectures and counties along the way must unconditionally cooperate with your march and be responsible for the logistics and supplies.

If anyone slacks off, you can kill him first and then report him to the governor; the governor himself needs to be escorted back to Beijing and interrogated in Dali Temple.

In short, I just want to be fast, and you must reach Lingzhou as quickly as possible!

After you go there, take control of the overall situation! "

Hearing this, Fang Chongyong was speechless by Brother Ji! The imperial court changed its orders overnight, which was really outrageous!

"Sage, what about going to the south of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River..."

Fang Chongyong said hesitantly.

"I have ordered Yang Shenjin to take the lead and take Bian Lingcheng to Yangzhou to collect the tribute.

It can generally be dealt with for a while, so you don't have to worry about these.

We can wait until your master returns to court to talk about other matters. The matters at hand are Shuofang's.

This is the most urgent, you must handle it properly! "

Brother Ji waved his hand and refused to give any more details.

Fang Chongyong secretly thought something was wrong. He had rarely seen Brother Ji in such an anxious state. Something must be wrong.

"Sage, Wei Chen has a dark eye on what's going on with Shuo Fang, and he has no connections there. I'm afraid..."

Fang Chongyong was still a little unsure, and dealing with the unfamiliar Qiu Ba was not an easy task.

However, he saw Brother Ji wave his hand and said: "It's better if you have nothing to do with the locals. In short, after arriving at Shuofang, they immediately controlled the senior officials of Shuofang Army, including Li Guozhen, Zhang Qiqiu, Pugu Huai'en and others, and waited My decree."

Brother Ji looked a little angry, but he was obviously not angry with Fang Chongyong.

"In compliance with the order, I will lead my troops to Shuofang."

Fang Chongyong had no choice but to take the letter of appointment handed over by Brother Ji and put it next to him.

"Go ahead. General Gao will tell you the details. Hurry up and leave quickly!"

Brother Ji closed his eyes, looking very tired.

(End of this chapter)